August 31, 2005

Adam McBurnie is 22 years old and grew up in Vancouver. When Rick Kimbrough (volunteer from Feb-June) was headed back to the U.S. he stopped through Livingston Guatemala and hit an internet cafe. Sitting next to Rick was Adam. They struck up a conversation and four months later Adam is holding down the fort in my absense. Adam's sister will be joining us on the 23rd of September, and our crew from Ashland will arrive the first week of October. That makes us 8 strong.

Working for Longwayhome:

When I set out to explore Central America I had hoped to find a rewarding place to volunteer. I was, without specific criteria, looking for a cause free of beurocracy and extravagant Gringo´s. I wanted somewhere with a homely atmosphere and unquestionable equality between the locals and the volunteers. I found all I could´ve imagined and more in San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala.

Fate was working in my favor when it directed me here. On a daily basis I have the privilege of working side by side with the Kaqchikel peoples. From this work I gain the opportunity to practice my spanish(even a couple Kaqchikel words), immerse myself in a most fascinating culture, and begin to understand a completly different situational and worldly perspective. All of this in the barrio and in moments of weakness civilization is but 20 minuites away. There one can find a respectable amount of Western frivolties( except for half decent ketchup).

Never previously in my life have I experienced the joy of working with appreciative children, whether that comes from having never worked with children before or the fact that North American kids are arrogant, I can´t be sure. At any rate the 4 hours spent each wednesday with the fine people at Colegio Technico Maya are the most rewarding in memory, I more than look forward to the opportunity of working with more happy patojitos in the future.

As far as enlightening projects go, I have been personally involved in the following:

1. Organic-Guatemalan farming. The director and his associates have managed to fuse local knowledge and granola eating clean living to form a signifigant vegitable garden wich is based on Guatemalan techniques but remains chemical free.
2. Temescal. We are in the process of constructing a guatemalan bath house using primarily natural material, the process of which has taught me a great deal about the practicality and economy of sustainably building.
3 .My personal favorite. mastering the art of heating tortillas on an open fire, with nothing to extract them but your fingers, while listening to co-workers chat in their native tongue( all the while suspecting them of talking about you).

I recently took a month to quench my thirst for the rest of Central America, no complaints, but I was kissing Guatemalan soil when I arrived in the welcoming environment of Comalapa, I place wich I have come to recognize as home. Adam Mcburnie
Born in Vancouver, B.C. Canada